Gravitational Pull and Parachute Investigation
Aim
The aim of the experiment is to investigate how each of several
different weights of varying mass attached to a parachute in turn can
influence the gravitational pull and air resistance forces acting on
it, consequently affecting the time it takes to reach the ground when
dropped from a specific height.
Preliminary Work
Forces are measured in Newtons (N), named after Isaac Newton who
invented this unit. We cannot see them but instead we can see their
effects on objects, so forces are described in terms of what they do.
They can cause objects to turn, change speed, direction or shape.
The forces acting on a falling parachute are gravity and air
resistance and these are the two forces which affect the speed at
which the parachute falls.
Air resistance (also called drag) is when air molecules collide with
an object’s leading surface. This is the opposite force to gravity,
and can slow falling objects down.
The actual amount of air resistance encountered by the
object depends on a variety of factors. The two most common factors
which have a direct effect upon the amount of air resistance are:
- the speed of the object
- the cross-sectional area of the object
Increased speeds and increased cross-sectional areas result in an
increased amount of air resistance.
Gravity is what causes objects to fall downwards. If there was no air
resistance, all falling objects would accelerate at 10m/s/s (10m/s²)
because there would be no other force to change the speed.
Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity of an object changes
over a period of time. It is measured in m/s², and it tells you how
much the velocity will change each second. When air resistance is
present, objects with different mass accelerate at different speeds.
Parachutes, as used in this investigation, are effective because they
have a very large surface area compared to the weight attached and so
- The plumb bob was used to locate the centre of the trip plate , to
...tly with the previously presumed events in the span of a night, which is astronomically in factual. According to the Milankovitch cycles principles, it takes roughly about 100,000 for the orbit to move from low to high.
in a set time. For example if a potato chip is cut in a wavy shape or
Many people are amazed with the flight of an object, especially one the size of an airplane, but they do not realize how much physics plays a role in this amazing incident. There are many different ways in which physics aids the flight of an aircraft. In the following few paragraphs some of the many ways will be described so that you, the reader, will realize physics at work in the world of flight.
An object that is falling through the atmosphere is subjected to two external forces. The first force is the gravitational force, expressed as the weight of the object. The weight equation which is weight (W) = mass (M) x gravitational acceleration (A) which is 9.8 meters per square second on the surface of the earth. The gravitational acceleration decreases with the square of the distance from the center of the earth. If the object were falling in a vacuum, this would be the only force acting on the object. But in the atmosphere, the motion of a falling object is opposed by the air resistance or drag. The drag equation tells us that drag is equal to a coefficient times one half the air density (R) times the velocity (V) squared times a reference area on which the drag coefficient is based.
To find the average speed of an object, the total distance the object or the dancer traveled over the time it took to get there. For instance, if a dancer moves five meters toward the left of the stage over fifteen seconds, then the equation would look like speed=5m/15s. As a result, the average speed would equal 0.3m/s.
find the rate I have to find the mass change in 1 hour, and I will
The first ideas of freefall did not consider the evolution of human body flight that skydiving has become today. In fact, Leonardo Da Vinci, who we now consider the “Father of the Parachute,” designed the first conceivable sketch of a parachute. His original idea was to build a device to rescue people from burning buildings, not knowing what his impact may be on the sport six centuries later.
Flight uses four forces: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. In a nutshell; so to speak, an airplane must create enough lift to support its own weight. Secondly, the airplane must produce thrust to propel itself. Finally, the aircraft must overcome the drag or the force of resistance on the airplane that is moving through the air. All four of these forces are vital and necessary for an aircraft to move, takeoff, fly, and land.
If a force acts on a body, the body accelerates in the direction of the force. In the example of the force of gravity, small things like textbooks are pulled downward toward the center of the large mass of the Earth, not up into space, even if some people think that this might happen. Isaac Newton was the first to conceive of weight as the gravitational attraction. between the body and the Earth. The force that results from the gravitational attraction of the Earth on its surface is what we call weight. Science has chosen to measure the mass of objects in units that are roughly equivalent to the weight of those objects on Earth.
In experiment 5, we are learning about density and specific gravity in measurements. Density is measured by mass divided by volume in order to get the ratio of the mass of an object to its volume. Specific gravity, on the other hand, is the density of a substance divided by the density of water and will cancel out the units in order to get a unitless measurement. Mass and Volume can be measured in two different ways, first mass can be calculated by directly placing it on the triple beam scale directly, or by weighing the difference. Volume can be calculated by displacement in the graduated cylinder or by calculating its dimensions. In this experiment, the objectives were to calculate the density of a solid by measuring its mass and volume,
There is an old saying that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. There is a lot of truth to this statement, especially if you are the one walking away. Here are the stories of two such landings that I am personally familiar with. Since they are both very similar in nature, they will be discussed simultaneously in the pages to follow. N9KF was a Model 1 Kitfox. It was built and flown by my father. The Kitfox is an experimental, homebuilt kit plane. Every plane, like every person, has a story. This is the story of N9KF or at least the story as I know it.
Height of sand, compression Flatten or compress the sand back to how it was, as accurately as possible, by using a flat surface. Research Question How does the height of the drop affect the depth of the sand? Hypothesis As the height of the drop for the ball increases, the measured depth of the sand will increase. This is because the ball will have more time to accelerate at 9.8ms-¹, and therefore have more momentum, creating a larger impact on the sand each time the height of the drop is raised.